While most of these were multi-purpose stadiums that were the cool new things when they were built and hated by the '90's, there is no reason to think that the shelf life of the newer stadiums isn't limited either, especially with how technology moves so much faster today.

County Stadium in Milwaukee was around for 47 years, 1953-2000, you forgot the Braves played there after moving from Boston.

__________________Coming up to bat for our White Sox is the Mighty Mite, Nelson Fox.

Nothing surprises any more. The Cubs, being one of the most profitable teams in baseball are currently complaining how they are cash short and need to raise more money before doing anything. And their fans are buying it!

If someone was going to hand me $500m and free land to build a ballpark, I'd probably take it too.

I think it would be interesting to see that map of ticket buyers for the sox and cubs.

In the late 1980s when JR and EE where planning to move the Sox to Addison, they said that a big chunk of Sox season ticket holders lived in DuPage County. That was one of their justifications for moving to Addison. Even if that was true, the Addison move was a lousy idea.

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Originally Posted by doublem23

Yeah, I agree, frankly, I think there might only be a few parks replaced before the Cell. Crazy as it is, it's the 9th oldest park in MLB now, Fenway and Wrigley aren't going anywhere. Neither is Kauffman. I doubt Dodger Stadium is, either, but this new ownership group is a real wild card.

So that leaves Angel Stadium, the Oakland Coliseum, Tropicana, and Skydome as the last 4 older parks. All of those seem likely to be replaced in the next 15 years, but after that, it has to be the Cell next in line, I'd think.

It will also be interesting to see what style ballpark the Braves end up building; wonder if they'll replicate their division rivals in Miami and build another contemporary park or if they'll go back to Retro Modern/Classic that has dominated MLB since Camden Yard opened.

I doubt the Angels will be leaving Angels Stadium any time soon. They are quite successful there. It doesn't have the charm of the new retro parks, but it's a pretty good baseball-only stadium that went through a major renovation in the late 90s. The other 3 stadiums you mentioned, are definitely obsolete, though.

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Originally Posted by Huisj

The first of the new stadiums to be replaced. Does this set the new standard for how quickly a stadium becomes obsolete? Kind of crazy.

I doubt it. The other new parks are still quite popular, aren't "outdated", and most state/local governments (except for Cobb Co. apparently) aren't going to be throwing $500M and up around on a team with a perfectly good ballpark and pretty much no leverage to move (where would a team go?).

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Originally Posted by Moses_Scurry

Just looking over some of the previous ball-parks for teams that are now in "new" parks, it looks like 30-40 years of use is pretty normal.

While most of these were multi-purpose stadiums that were the cool new things when they were built and hated by the '90's, there is no reason to think that the shelf life of the newer stadiums isn't limited either, especially with how technology moves so much faster today.

Comparing the 60s/70s era ballparks to the post 1991 MLB ballparks is comparing apples and oranges IMO. Today's parks with their popular designs and popular downtown locations are nowhere near as outdated the multipurpose eyesores of the past. Plus, I think the era of state/local governments spending big bucks on insanely expensive ballparks is, with a few exceptions, over.

I doubt the Angels will be leaving Angels Stadium any time soon. They are quite successful there. It doesn't have the charm of the new retro parks, but it's a pretty good baseball-only stadium that went through a major renovation in the late 90s. The other 3 stadiums you mentioned, are definitely obsolete, though.

Yeah, I mean, you're probably right but also, if you'd had told me last week that the Braves would be building a new stadium to replace their 20-year-old ballpark, I'd have thought that was pretty crazy, too

All it takes is one crazy county or town to make something happen, and there's plenty of well-to-do enclaves in Southern California

Yeah, I mean, you're probably right but also, if you'd had told me last week that the Braves would be building a new stadium to replace their 20-year-old ballpark, I'd have thought that was pretty crazy, too

All it takes is one crazy county or town to make something happen, and there's plenty of well-to-do enclaves in Southern California

Yeah, but even Orange County most likely doesn't have the money nowadays to pay for a new ballpark.

Anybody from Atlanta or the south that can explain the logistics behind this aside from season ticket statistics?

From what I've heard, public transportation is a non-factor in Atlanta. There isn't a MARTA spur near Turner to begin with so the fact that the new stadium will be 2 miles outside ATL city limits without a MARTA stop is irrelevant in comparison. But I want to know about the financial burden Turner field supposedly is. Does it need any of those aforementioned repairs? Would stripping every chair and replacing some of the lights really amount to $150 Million? That seems like a ridiculous overestimation to me. These stadiums are becoming disposable to the point where major overhaul is just as daunting as a change of scenery.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. White Sox

In the year 3000, the NuChicago InfraredSox will lose 4-3 to the Minnechonga Piranhas after a booted ball in the 9th inning leads to an inside the park grand slam by Nick Exclamation.

Anybody from Atlanta or the south that can explain the logistics behind this aside from season ticket statistics?

From what I've heard, public transportation is a non-factor in Atlanta. There isn't a MARTA spur near Turner to begin with so the fact that the new stadium will be 2 miles outside ATL city limits without a MARTA stop is irrelevant in comparison. But I want to know about the financial burden Turner field supposedly is. Does it need any of those aforementioned repairs? Would stripping every chair and replacing some of the lights really amount to $150 Million? That seems like a ridiculous overestimation to me. These stadiums are becoming disposable to the point where major overhaul is just as daunting as a change of scenery.

This announcement came out of the blue, the stadium is all of 17 years old; Cobb County is giving them a ridiculous amount of money which they don't really have. I have a hard time believing the Braves' cost estimations to refurbish Turner Field.

As for the public transportation question, Cobb County does not currently and has not ever wanted MARTA, so I think that's a non-starter. Atlanta is one of the most car-dependent metro areas in the country. And while some cities are building out public transportation systems now (LA's subway expansion is a rather large one, while Denver is building a network of light rail lines), Atlanta is well behind other locales. A local option-sales tax to build out light rail circling the city failed (the Belt Line project is currently just a multi-use one for bikers, walkers, etc.).